What We Say

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC prints ahove the text of the speech Declan Bree waa to deliver at the Mullazghmore Compemoration, We print it in pretest‘at the actions of a section ef the crowd who shouted down Bree and forced him toe abandon apeaking, In oot view Ehis incident is a slur on the monory of the herofe Dobby Sands and his comrades and dees noe service to the continuing strugzle for national self=determinaticn, i Declan Bree fia associated with the Connolly Youth Movement, itself linked with the Communist Party (CPI), Bree suppottas the polities of these organfsations to which Peoples Democracy fs | tetally tn epsosition, But while the CPI"s role during the bunger striice was one of equivecatiun, for 2xample refusing aupport to the National HBlock/Atmagh Comittee, Declan Bree was one of the most active members of the Sligo Gommittee and raised the issue of the hunger strike on both the Urban District Council and on the Trade Union Council, Declan Sree waa invited to join the platform, Having accepted the Llovitat= jon he tefused to be intimidated by the vilification of the Commemoration by Pe this J5 not the taken such a stand, After Mounthatten's execution in 1979 Bree refused to be associated with a resclution of eondolence at the Urban District Council, instead denouelng Mountbatten an an iupetialiat warmonger. He was praised far this by AN PHOBLACHT, impertant reason why Bree should have been heard out; the principle of free speech within the anti-imperialist movement, How can there be united actio by anti-imperialists if aincerely held views are suppressed, shouted down or censaned?

Some may argue that Bree stepped over the line, We find no evidence of this in his speech, much of which expressed the convictions snd and aspirations of everyone in the anti-imperiallsi movements: that thers can be no peat: in Ireland while an i#pettialist: arm occupies any patt of our country.

Withir his speech Bree makes other criticisms amd political assessments that Peoples Democracy totally rejects,Two af these deserve attention, The first is Bree's implicit contenFann Fhat Resuhtiesans ‘have fanned first tive Bree has fut there is at even more the class struggle in the six counties Although the CPI aectsrian foundations ‘and character of the Northern Ireland state, it belleves that the pro-imperialist cenvictions of protestant workers can be whittled away or at least neutraHised through experlence of compou action with eatholie workers sround ‘hréad and butter’ issues, The prob Lem with this approach, is. thst these shared experiences’ are extremely episedic and ate conatantly proce to break-up through the intredvetion af the “Orence Care’, The explanation the fact that these fragile inatances of "clasa solidarity'wake for-less impression on conscioustess than the reality of prstestant domination in ewery decisive sector of society, Mme only valid perspective for neutralising or changing the pro-imper= islist attitudes of protestant workera fiunt invalve a general politigal deMotalisation about the proapects of continued loyallst agcendency, The TRA"s anned campaign has been a significant factor in whatever demoralisatior has developed ao far, For feoples Democracy the problem is that republican strategy,both in its polit= ical as well as its military aspects acknowledges the for this bles-ir

pway to ovincome them o fight aven morn resoliy for democracy anda tish declaration of intent withdraw from Ireland, ij to win unity around defence of the common ss interests of working yole, Catholic end Prot ant, marth and south.

ancl, Pimust say it foud and ar - The Irish people have undamen tal democratic — ittocunity and indepennoe. This right was mmrost nantly suppressed by thn democratic imposition partition, an imposition st establishes Britain's niral quilt ard responsiity for the political crits jretand.

it Britain will not leave daond merely because the ish people demand it, itis delusion to imagine that oral pressure alone will gce them to-go. British mparialisrn will have to be wced out by # political oid isathon of the working aa. in theleacership of the stional struggle.

a find aiway out of ecormic chisclire and the vichous rcle of vinlonen in Northam sland requires an |mmedHe and to British repressmand a declaration from = Westminster parliament wit it intends to withdraw jw tpecific time from all Garierence in trish affairs, plitical, military and econmic; thin opening te way we the [rich working people @rth and south, to deterfine whet future political fel economic stractures needed to best carve Movement may secure, it is not an dalise ir Ireland, ains intrests'. This really is a quite amazing atetement, lican Fianna Fail.

The winning of a British dedaration of intent to withdraw if of major impOrtenoe because jt would romove from the Unionist leadership the major weapon by whielt it maintains the divisian of the working class in the North, the so-called quaranter of union with Britein, Such an attack on Unionism's ideological base would-de much to develop the political umity of the working class of all drelamd, that ls essential if the Irish peogle’s struggle for self-determination and social emancipation is ta be successfully concl ued.

The call for a British deciaratian of intent to withdraw and for the estailishimeert of dernocracy in the Morth is the key ehemuent im bemaking the dead weight of Brit an's contrel. ft cam be mpporied by Erica sacteon of the labour movement and democratic opinéean bn the three major areadof political action = i the South, the Marth anc mm Britain, At the sare tire support can be sought for it intemathonally, For we should remember that the socielist doctrine common humanity lows in the eink of all races, creeds. colours and nations, that the interests of labour are every: where identical, and that WEPS Bre an abomination.

Connally hirgell pointed out thet the socialist of tlass and the importance of ite indepenent organisation. Consequently whatever political advane#s the Republican adequate instrument for building sorBree's second major error céntre: on the 26 counties. He writes: that tie republicans * sim of destabilising the Republic of Ireland(sic) would in tilting the balance of forces in BritThe 26 counties is formally independent,but this independence is purely a sham,The ruling class in the south has the asme basic intrests as cap italists in any part of the world, When the interests of the capitalist class Tegaire it, national independ -ence goes out the window. Any real Strugele for self-determination will have to confront the Southern capfalists including the pseudo- repubThe CP] however. following the classic Stalinist Line see a ‘progressive role for that section of the capitalist Class whe back Flatna Fail. Flowing frpm this the CPI believes nothing should be done to undermine the position of these explolters,whe in the stalinist schema will be part of a ee ee ee ee Cr) en te eS, ny et another country is a fellow patriot, as the capitalist of ones am country if a nat ural enemy. And as we in the socialist, republican and Progressive movement in Ireland support the campalgnsof the peoples in El Salvador, South Africa, Chile, Palestine, in their struggle for freecdam and national liberation we know toa, that our brothers and sisters iitemationally will support Our struggle.

Today we have gathered to honour, in particular, the memory of Bobby Sands and his colleagues who died on hunger strike but | think that it is only right that we should also remember the more than 2,000 others whe have dice in ireland and Britain, a2 result of the violence of the past 4 years and indeed the countless Others who have chee an tis my dream that rey child rena’ Generation and their children: in-tumi, will have the oppartunity of growing up in a free Ireland where. human life willl be treated with the reipect 1t desamves and where exploitation, aborted in 1971, that*i4! lowed, Irish working class, enci.

social insecurity and lnjuatice will bea thing of the past, Others before them were young. They died @ panselese death, British imperialism destroyed tham in their the tations] democratic revolution Tt was following this achema in chile in the early"?Os that left the door open for the m!litary coup apalnst Salvador Allencde'a Unidad Popular Goveroment and che 1 years af brutal tepression of “the workers and peasents:

The 19841 hunger etrike should have provided proof-if needed, that when imperialism snaps its fingers, Chatles Haughey alts up as quickly as Garret Fitzgerald, To place any confidence in Flanna Fail or the Southern capitalista [s to totally disarm the These are serious differences between Declan Bree and Peoples Democracy. We believe that many militants inside and cutside the Republican mavt agree with us in cetecting Bree's positiona.Unfortunately, we also know while the following of the CPI ds quite amall,the view that the Republicsn Movement is "sectarian’ and the belief that there is a progressive: bourgeois nationalist section of the Tuling class Nave much greater curr= Indeed to be fair, Bree's view of the 20 ¢ounties waa until cecently also the practical policy of the Republican Hovenent Rejection of thatepoeldey; if [ec ote eh mh See Se eee tb ee ee eee prime. Others at our side ara, young. lrmperialism is chpating them of the best yaars, seoiling their youth, Thls hemd-not be so. Wie know who they ane that do not imperialism, pent. be heard, and to be answered by History shows that it is net an ofgenisatiun without finally toad without creating the sort of Tréses!

Want gn and to Misery, injustice, Wielence-and despair. Wo call them by name = Mangaret Thatcher ; and the forces of British strategy {n the South will be a major gain for the anti-imperislist moveGerry Adams at Boden=town stressed the decisive Importance of winning the workers of the South to anti-imperialism, iat is an enormous atd challenging task. We will have to openly and comradely discusa with workers who share illusions similar to ftee and the Coomunist Party,and to cowvince these workers through a combination of political propaganda, and the concrete experience of antiimperialfat leadership of the struggles of working people,that Socialist Republicanism is the road forward. 5 Freedom of expression and organisation are preconditions for succeeding in thla task. That's why Peoples DemoCracy defenda Declan Bree's right ta anti-{mperialists,Reliance on "bully boy" tactics such as seen at Mullaghmoare has another darger of particular importance ta republican militants, poasible ta suppress dissent outside suppressing it within the organisation Republican wilitants cant take this manclithic machine that Stalinists heve used themaelves and which they appear to digapree with sa violently, Were that to happen with the Republican movement, we would 211] -oe -the

This TURIN — The: first conference of women from industrialised oountrie,s on the theme of women and work was held here on April 25-25, The aien of the conference was bo look al all aspects of word's work, inside aod outside ihe home, and women’) work in reine ito ter pode ip the fosealy The epproech wa eed op be Ler tithe ‘Prodan and Repeodece, Women and fork The preparsilon of the conference, and the discussion that tok place al it, reflected a compromise between these two positions, The preparatory papers and the workshop discussion: covered a broad range of topics: Wage-vcarmning women, Women in Self-employment or in Selfananaged Work, Domestic Labour, New Technology, Social Services and services mun by women, were the topics of the first day's workshop. On the second day the thames were: The family Pron , ire, Et nd power! ees Women and politics, Trade unions and ferminiam.

### WOMEN AND WORK

The coefrtemce eet owt with the atm af men and thelr work. There is some basic statisthcal information which provides a starting point. Women represent an ever-growing percentage, Indeed the often majority of, the inerease In the active worklore: available, This is particularly the ease for the 2515 age monge, which was prerigusly characterised by a sharp drop in the number of women working a it wee the prime period for childbraring This inereee in the oveilable workforee bas not been matched by an increase in the jobs available, except in the is ao gbridged versian of ‘au atticle which appeared in the. June 27? issué of INTERNATIONAL VIEWPOINT.

this awarenctss and radicslisstion survive the blows inflicted by the ruling class ‘determination to make the working class pay for the crisis?

COMMON FEATURES IN ATTACKS ON WOMEN The contributions by women from so many different countries helped to produce a dearer understanding of the way in which these abtacks are being carried oul, A cheer picture emerged deapile the different. political saituations, there were common elements im all the European ecruntring: ‘ — there ia a generalised attack on employment, which most severely attacks the weakest part of the workforce: Women, — there la an increase in part-time work under different forma (eg the “free Wednesdays’ in France, remaining at bakoie bud ee call in Germany, the yy those days of the week or inves of the year when demand is heavy, — the spreading concept of the ‘tomily wage" through increasing dependenis allowances ond unemployment benefits of favouring job opportunities for the ‘heads of families’, This latter point ja Mustrated by the example of Itaby where at the same time a8 there ls a severe ablack on the InflaHiot-indexing of wages and worker wages in peneml, fovermment decmees have increased allowances for dependents. The trade unions and politics) parthes have agreed to this tradeoff. There are imilar dewlopments in Spain.

At the game time there are propagande campaigns “throughout Europe to ‘revalue’ private and family life. In this conthe different experiences and different wale of expresion that continually arose during the three days. The basic premise of each discusion, whether on personal identity .or new technology, was the economic cribs although there were many -divergent approaches.

WOMEN AGAINST THE CHISIS— A EUROPEAN CAMPAIGHING SLAKLAN A — to come out of ‘the conference ba launeh an international campaign on the alogan ‘Women against the Crisis’, This proposal came from several Belgian women who have been Involved in the Belgian wornen's campaigo 'Femmes contre ‘la crise’ over the last three years, dolnt activity between women's groups and the union rank and file laid the basis for the campaign which has now won the participation of the major unions and propressive politica! parties.

The main themes of the campaign agreed ot Turin are:

— defence of women's right to work and economic independence — opposition to povemmental and employers policies which discriminate against or particularly affect women = Opposition Lo part-lime work, for a shorler working week with no loss of pay:

© Pi oi soe ee Se: fl ae Ee a MS cpa ey tL Waele eat BOE AEP Be She i psc japcsd epsniases va ieee eee pee wees epee we wee ewe et ee 8s -leis d Lie ie eeee WRITE TO:

HORTZON BOOKS, AVOCA PARK, ANDERSONSTOWN, BELFAST PLODGH BOOKS 5 BELEVEDERE PLACE, DUBLIN 1.

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fact objectively strengthen imperia- lism's position in Ireland,by further

irst international conference on omen and Work